Last Wednesday, I hopped on a double decker Megabus and rode to New York in order to learn about knives. Many months ago, I’d gotten an email inviting me to visit Korin, a specialty shop that sells Japanese knives and tableware and finally the day had arrived for my trip. As a fan of good kitchen knives, I was incredibly excited to learn a little more about the breadth of knives available out there.
Located downtown near City Hall, Korin has been in the business of knives and tableware for 30 years. A family operation, the store was initially open only by appointment to the restaurant trade (they currently work with the likes of Nobu, Grammercy Tavern and Per Se) but in recent years, the shop has been open daily to the public as well.
In addition to selling an incredibly vast array of knives and tableware, they also offer sharpening services using a variety of Japanese water stones. They can sharpen and repair nearly any type or style of knife, save those with a serrated edge.
Having seen what they were able to do with some of my more beat-up knives, I am a true believer as to what a good sharpening can do. There is no one that I know of in Philadelphia producing this level of edge quality. Happily, you can mail your knives to Korin should you not live near enough to drop in for sharpening.
Korin sells Western-style knives, traditional Japanese knives and a Japanese-Western hybrid. The difference between these knives is in the edge. Western edges are sharpened so that they have a symmetrical edge. This offers a blade that is fairly durable and relatively easy to maintain. Japanese knives are traditionally sharpened on just one side of the knife. This makes for an incredibly sharp edge, but not as easy for the home cook to maintain.
Then there’s the hybrid knife. Made of thin, high-grade steel, the edge is sharpened to an asymmetrical edge that leads to a sharper, more durable blade. The only issue with selecting a knife with an asymmetrical edge is if you have multiple cooks in your household who have different dominant hands. These knives are sharpened differently for righties and lefties. Just something to keep in mind.
One of the things that my hosts stressed when showing me through the knives was the fact that in Japanese culinary culture, there are different knives for different tasks. The giant knife with the extended blade in this picture? It is designed for cutting soba noodles. Thicker blades are designated for butchering, while thinner ones are for making more precision cut. Blade shapes also vary depending on region and maker.
One blade that I fell particularly in love with while visiting Korin was the Petty knife. It’s seen as an analog to the paring knife, as it’s both light and highly maneuverable. However, as you can see (it’s pictured below), it’s got a longer blade that you typically find on a Western paring knife. Since introducing it to my kitchen a week ago, it’s rapidly become my favorite knife for quick tasks like slicing up an apple.
If you’re a knife nerd like me, make sure to visit Korin the next time you’re in New York!
Favorite tool…..my mind went all sorts of directions. It all depends on what I’m trying to accomplish. Lately, I’ve been in love with my rasp grater. I seem to find all kinds of things to do with it.
It would have to be a decent chef’s knife. I have an 8″ global, and cooking without it is just an exercise in frustration now. I’m so spoiled!
My favorites are my KitchenAid stand mixer, which completely changed my baking life. And I have this awesome flat wood spatula/spoon tool that works wonders when I cook in the wok.
I hope I get a chance to cut myself with this awesome knife!!
I have to say, my KitchenAid stand mixer is my most prized kitchen tool. Many others are so very close….but I can make cookies, pasta, ice cream, and sausage all with the same miraculous device! Love love love it! That knife looks beautiful!
My favorite kitchen tool is definitely my cast iron skillet – it cooks everything perfectly!
a wisk is my fav tool
Is it cheating to say that my favorite kitchen “tool” is the coffee maker, especially in the morning?!
My favorite tool.
That’s a hard one.
I would say my knives. I use my paring knife the most.
You can always think of a substitute for a lifter etc. but to be without my Knives it would be awful.
I have Henkels that I bought in Germany 27 years ago.
Would love to win this one.
Charlie
A well made knife is something I cherish. I love the ones I have, though I’ve used better. These look exceptional, so I’m really crossing my fingers that I win one 🙂
What a hard decision. I love my enameled cast iron dutch oven…use it all the time! I love my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and blender. I love my big measuring cups and HUGE stainless steel bowl. I could go on and on and on, but I really, really, REALLY need a decent knife so this would make my day!
Heather
It’s probably a toss up between my grater and my jar lifter. Oddly enough, before I had the good sense to get a jar lifter, I was using my grater to lift jars out of hot water (the grater has two pieces that collapse and expand like tongs). The jar lifter is a much safer option.
I would have to say my bosch because of the attachments I have for it. It’s a mixer, food processor, and slicer in one machine. I love it!
Definitely my knife. One good sharp knife can replace dozens of other kitchen tools.
I couldn’t live with out my 10 inch cast iron skillet!
It’s got to be my micro-plane. I never knew what a difference grated garlic could make to a dish!
I have to narrow it down? I do use my microplane grater a lot.
My favorite kitchen tool is my cast iron dutch oven.
While I love all of the modern conveniences of my kitchen, from the mixer and food processor to the dishwasher and toaster, if I had to take one thing for the road, it would be my knife roll and my hand-selected knife set. Too many years of work and selection have gone into it to go without it!
My favorite kitchen tool tends to vary on what I’ve been doing recently. At the moment, my favorite is my apple corer/slicer. It saves so much time and effort for my almost daily apple addiction.
My favorite tool is my chef knife. I love getting into cutting zen mode.
I guess that I am purist because my favorite tools are my chef’s knife, a wooden spoon, and my hands.
My favourite tool is a breadknife made from the blade of an old electric knife, a piece of wood, and duct tape to hold it together. My father used it for years, replacing the duct tape as needed. He was a child of the Great Depression and never threw away anything that could be repurposed. The knife makes me think of him and smile whenever I use it—and it’s the best breadknife I have.
Although I use it infrequently, my favorite tool is my Continental 1.5 cup mini-chopper, which I use only for garlic, ginger, or tomatillos when making salsa verde, this thing is able to mince or even liquefy just about anything in a matter of seconds. I could certainly use a new knife tho, for sure…
My favorite kitchen tool is my chef knife. I use it at least once a day.
Those knives look amazing!
My current favorite tool is my new immersion blender.
I love my measuring cups and knives of course but my favorite tools are my speciality ones like my apple corer/slicer. I love eating apple slices with no fuss of seeds or having to eat around a core. Also up there is my banana slicer too. I know it’s cheesy but getting perfectly uniform banana slices in my oatmeal every morning with only four chops instead of 20 has made it worth the $10 price at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Most people prefer using a knife and see those speciality tools as drawer clutter but I love the ones I have and only buy it if I will use it most days.
I can’t live without my stand mixer, I use it for everything!
Lately, it’s been a tiny little paring knife by Global.
Ooh, this is a dead tie. I love my foley food mill, and my marble rolling pin. They both came out of my moms kitchen, so they are all the more precious.
My blender! I’m a huge smoothie addict! 😀
My favorite kitchen tool is my paring knife. Couldn’t cook dinner without it!!
Oh, I think my favorite kitchen utensil is my wooden spoon from my gramma. I am the 4th generation of Ozannes to use it & it fits right in my hand perfectly!
Even a veteran lurker can be enticed to comment when beautiful knives are involved. Especially when ALL her knives need a sharpening.
No matter how much I love putting things up and growing things for that purpose, my favorite kitchen tool is still the old red-handled wooden rolling pin passed along to me from my grandmother. I occasionally use a marble one for fancier pastries, but I use the older one for crushing pepper, tenderizing meat, de-husking hazelnuts, and a zillion other things in addition to rolling out crusts. My second fave is another inheritance… the tasty-pie maker my grandmother used to make is cheese and apple “pies” on the first day of elementary school each year. It involved buttering two slices of white Wonderbread (sheesh!), filling it with cheese or applesauce, and then toasting it over the flame on her ancient gas stove. I make them with more refined ingredients these days, but I remember her every time I see it in the drawer.
I once did two summers of field work in the Arizona mountains, living out of a tent 2 hours from the nearest shower. What I learned was that just because you are “roughing it” doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bring quality kitchen tools. When I’m down to the bare minimum but still have an oven, must have list includes chef knife and cutting board, wooden spoon, rubber spatula, measuring spoons and cups and a good skillet. A quality knife is always the first tool I take with me when I’m camping.
Maislen pan. Stainless steel. I drooled over the copper version at 400 dollars for years until I found a stainless steel one. I use it for everything.
On a side note I do not comment very often but love your work in your small kitchen. It’s inspiring to us who struggle with counter space to work. But I especially love your recipes using your preserves. It’s taught me a lot about flavours and flavour combinations, substitutions and different ways of using what I make. If you care to offer more of those, I’ll eat them up (pun intended).
Many Thanks!!
My Vorwerk Thermomix! I live in Germany and they are really popular over here. Use it almost every single day. Too bad they aren’t available in the US easily (just through Canada). They are expensive but it has already paid for itself by the money I save, no more bakeries necessary!
My favorite is probably a tie between my spring-loaded tongs and my Wustof Chef’s knife. I’m always digging them out of the dishwasher – I seriously need to buy at least one more of each!
I am going to be dorky but like they say, clean hands are a cooks best tools in the kitchen. I agree wholeheartedly!!
Great trip, maybe I should take my knives there, they need a good repair.
My favorite kitchen tool is my cast iron skillet. You can cook pretty much anything in it and, in a pinch, it doubles as a home security system (apply skillet to evildoer).
My favourite kitchen tool would be my paring knife. I’ve been known to tote it back and forth between friend’s houses when asked to help prep dinner.
my favorite tool is my microplane i’ve had it for years and it works for grating and zesting some many things
My favorite kitchen tool is my oxo good grips cherry pitter, which I use for olives as well. I love being able to pop the fruit in my mouth and not have to spit anything out afterwards. 🙂
My favorite kitchen tool is my whisk. I currently have 3 of them. Not sure why I need 3 but I am happy anytime I can use my whisk.
I love my food processor.
My apple corer-peeler-slicer! Lifesaver! And my knives, of course!
My favorite kitchen tool/s are my calphalon non stick pots and pans!!!! They are the best!!!!!!! Thank you for this opportunity!
My favorite tool is my microplane!
I love my Ulu knife- it has a curved blade and comes with a cutting board that has a shallow ‘bowl’ in it. To mince or chop things you just rock the knife back and forth in the bowl. And I think it’s similar to the Japanese knives in that you only have to sharpen one side of it!
That knife looks amazing!
It’s lame, but I think my favorite kitchen tool is a good wood spoon. So versatile.